The media, explained

Myles Rademan, who handled spokesman duties for City Hall for years, wants people prepared to handle the media and has scheduled a seminar later this month to demystify the journalism field.

Rademan was the Public Affairs director for the local government for much of the past 20 years, handling media inquiries in the boom years of the 1990s and during the 2002 Winter Olympics. He no longer is a full-time City Hall official, but he is well-versed in fielding questions from reporters.

The seminar is scheduled April 20 in the meeting room at the Park City police station, 2060 Park Ave. It runs from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. and features a Rademan-led presentation, a panel discussion with journalists and an exercise that puts participants in a role-playing situation involving the media. The event is free.

"I think they should be aware of what the media is and what it is not," Rademan says.

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He says the seminar will cover interview tips for people who are involved with the media, how to handle emergency situations when reporters are clawing for information and how body language gives off hints to reporters.

There will be an on-camera scenario as well. Rademan will present scenarios involving the media, based on semi-real situations. He declines to talk about the scenarios beforehand, but he says they could delve into the media’s role in a development dispute like the Sweeney family’s Treasure or how reporters press officials after a disaster like an avalanche.

He says he will also explain what sorts of stories draw attention from the media and how reporters work on deadlines. Rademan says he will give a presentation about the media put together prior to the 2002 Winter Olympics, when City Hall tried to tightly regulate which officials spoke to reporters on behalf of the local government.

"Media 101. It’s the basics," he says.

Rademan expects between 50 and 60 people will attend, including members of the current Leadership Park City class, a program meant to prepare participants for top-level positions in government, the private sector and not-for-profit organizations.

For its size, Park City draws significant attention from journalists, with the local press outlets — The Park Record, KPCW radio and Park City Television, among them — often competing with the Salt Lake media and sometimes, such as during the Sundance Film Festival, national and international coverage.